


Chance Meeting at the Coffee Shop

by LastoftheStarMakers



Category: Real Person Fiction, Tobuscus - Fandom, Toby Turner - Fandom, Video Blogging & YouTube RPF, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Action/Adventure, Awkwardness, F/M, Fanfiction, Friendship, Heterosexuality, Human, Humor, Love, Original Character(s), POV Third Person, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Wordcount: Over 1.000, Work In Progress, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2014-08-25
Packaged: 2018-01-05 02:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1088478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LastoftheStarMakers/pseuds/LastoftheStarMakers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AUDIENCE?! WHA- What are you doing looking for romantic fanfiction about me and an OC? That's so silly, Audience. TWANSITION! LA is freaking HOT. SO hot that I almost gave up coffee and wouldn't have met- ...do you hear that? The shrieking? Like a horde of females screaming with excitement. Screaming and...running...towards me... Good LORD! RUN AUDIENCE! RUN!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Exciting Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Hello once again for the first time, Audience! Just to be clear straight-away: yes, I am the same person from FanFiction.net, yes, this story is posted on that website as well. If you want to cheat and go read this story there...fine. I can't exactly stop you. But I'm hoping you're too lazy to do that :D In other news, this story may be _slightly ___different than the one at ff.net as I'll likely be reading through the chapters before I post them and editing them a bit as I go along. That means these chapters will likely end up better than the ones over at ff.net -_- *laughs*  
>  TWANSITION  
> Man, this format is strange to me. I'm used to putting Author's Notes at the beginning of every chapter, and I may in fact still do that for now? *shrug* Suggestions are welcome, of course. I also can't figure out how to make this post the first chapter of the story as all I've seen in how to post a story, and then a chapter to said story. Sooo, if this first chapter looks a little weird, it's because I don't know what I'm doing.  
> TWANSITION  
> I've had this fanfic idea in my head since about 2008, but did not have a famous person to put with it until I randomly decided to search for Toby fanfiction on FanFiction.net and got inspired to place our favorite -buscus as the main character. Just as a general rule, do note that I have no idea where exactly Toby lives (I don't even live in CA), so he may actually have had no reason to be wandering around the North side of L.A. where he is found when the story starts, but liberties must be taken or there would be no story, yes? ^.^

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I have a problem with details (meaning I like being as detailed as possible), I just want everyone to know that no, I don't know where our friend Tobuscus lives (I don't even live in CA), so yes there may actually be no real reason for him to have been strolling around the North side of LA right before he runs across our heroine. But liberties in writing must be taken, otherwise there would be no story, yes?

The best part about Caffe Luxxe is, in fact, the coffee, Jane concluded as she happily sipped her "Testa Rossa," which is what the café calls their espresso. The worst part? It faces to the South, so the sun beats down on the façade at all times of the day. The establishment must have been aware of this fact, because there were tables and chairs intelligently set up underneath the West awning. Granted, at 7:05 am there wasn't exactly too much sun yet, but that just made Jane's usual table, situated perfectly under the edge of the awning so that the sun never quite reached it but she had a good view of the sidewalk, all the more luxurious.

"Is this seat taken?"

Jane blinked down at her book a couple of times as out of the corner of her eye she watched some guy slide into the seat next to her without waiting for an answer, scooting the chair closer to her than she felt was a comfortable distance for a stranger.

"I guess it is now." Jane said more harshly than she supposed she meant it, her tongue jumping to her defense in her confusion.

"Can I borrow these?"

Now Jane looked up as the intruder quickly and expertly yanked his own distinctively bright aqua-colored zip hoodie off his shoulders, whipped her light jacket out from underneath her purse and, without pause, pulled it over his lime green T-shirt while stuffing his discarded hoodie deep into his lap.

His next move consisted of swiping her ascot cap from its poise on top of her purse and jamming it down on his head, pulling it as far over his eyes as possible.

"You are a strange fellow." She thought it rather obvious that this was the case, but it was the only sentence she felt she could form coherently at that moment. The next one came quicker. "And please don't flatten my father's hat."

If she hadn't been so flabbergasted at the last fifteen seconds' events, she might have smiled back at him as the roguish man beside her flashed an infectious and mischievous grin in her direction. She did notice the perfectly straight, white teeth with a bit of envy though.

"I didn't know ascot caps could be flattened anymore than they already were." He fired back.

"I think you'd be very surprised." Jane glanced quickly at the current page of her book before closing it and placing it on the table next to her espresso. Whoever this man was, he didn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment, but she didn't exactly want him to take off wearing her clothes.

"You look like someone who runs and hides a lot, who is it you're trying to get away from this time?" Jane crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, turning her head to try and get a better look at this increasingly interesting circumstance beside her.

The man wearing her hat and jacket threw his head back in a great bout of unrestrained laughter, but quickly clamped his hand over his mouth and glanced with nervous, wide hazel eyes back towards the street to his left.

That's when Jane finally realized that since he sat down, there had been high-pitched girly shrieks of joy coming from down the street on the other side of Caffe Luxxe.

The man grabbed for the newspaper someone left on the table next to him and snapped it open, quickly crossing his feet at the ankles in a reclining position.

At that moment, an enormous mob of females burst around the corner and started to run down the block towards the pair sitting under the awning.

Slowly, knowing the man's newspaper blocked the mob's vision of her for the next couple of seconds, Jane grabbed for her book, and with a practiced hand opened right to the page she left. Leaning her elbows on the table and encircling her drink with her arms, Jane had a perfect peripheral view of what was happening.

Jane winced a bit as some of the shrieks periodically hit a certain pitch that grated at her ears, but otherwise, she continued to look perfectly content with her book as if she did not have a care in the world.

"JANE!"

Trouble.

Jane felt that ignoring the shout would be a worse decision than acknowledging it, but she also felt the stranger next to her visibly tense behind his newspaper.

Putting on her sweetest smile, Jane slowly raised her head.

At basically the head of the pack, Jane recognized the frantically waving young woman as Hayley, a friend.

As the mob ran by, Hayley dropped out for a moment and planted her hands heavily on the table, leaning over it with a grin and a gasp for air.

"How long have you been running?" Jane asked with a bit of surprise.

The slender girl got up early every morning and ran two, three, how ever many miles she felt like running, so to see her out of breath seemed a bit odd to Jane.

There were still shrieking girls running by, grins plastered on their faces similar in nature to the one Hayley wore on her own face in the midst of her hard breathing and flushed cheeks.

"Long enough!" Hayley replied happily.

Jane thought she heard 'five blocks' from behind the newspaper next to her, but there was too much noise to be sure. Hayley must have been one of the loudest shriekers if she was as out of breath as she looked from that short of a distance.

Hayley glanced to her right to see how much longer she had to take a break before the end of the mob. Jane looked with her.

There was no end in sight.

"You saw Tobuscus run by, right?"

Jane snapped her attention back to Hayley. To-who-gus?

"What?"

"Tobuscus. The guy we're chasing." If possible, Hayley's smile got wider.

"You mean the one that shot passed, madly clawing at the air in front of him to run faster?"

Hayley laughed, "Yup! That's him!"

The open newspaper next to Jane rustled in what Jane took to be quiet indignation at her description of him and the movement caught Hayley's attention.

Jane did not want to have to deal with the sly look Hayley cast back at her.

"So, Janey. Who is this?" Hayley waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Jane.

"He's-" some random stranger who came tearing down the block, madly clawing at the air in front of him to run faster, and took the seat next to me. Jane choked on her sentence before it could fully form.

"Hay-LEY!" A shout came from the mob that still thundered passed.

"Gotta go. See yah!" Hayley charged back into the mob full throttle, apparently having recovered her breath.

Jane sat amused at the entire situation, and also grateful to come away clean from her friend's prying questions.

Another full minute passed before the last of the scary group rounded a corner two or three blocks away. Even without actually having their prey in sight, someone in the front must be pretending they know where they're going.

The newspaper next to her heaved a giant sigh.

"Thank you."

Jane just shook her head, "For what?"

"Not giving me away." The newspaper came down a bit and the brown-haired man grinned his thanks at her.

"I don't even know who you are, so I'm not sure if that's really what I should be thanked for."

"You don't recognize me?"

Jane couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"I just said that."

"Right. Well. Thanks for helping out a random stranger who was in danger of being mauled to death by a mass of shrieking, over fifty percent underage, group of females."

"They're the worst when they smell your fear."

He threw his head back for another laugh and Jane felt as if he always laughed that hard.

He sobered up after a moment and snapped the newspaper clean again.

 _" 'Madly clawing at the air?'_   " The newspaper came down and he started to meticulously fold it back together, as if to contain his mock-anger. "Did you even see me running towards you before I sat down?" He carefully placed the paper in its entirety back down on the table where he snatched it, then turned to glare at her.

"Well of course not, but it must have been a valid description." Jane closed her book once more, matching him stare for stare. "You aren't that difficult to figure out, it seems."

He looked as if he wanted to stick his tongue out at her, but resisted the temptation, his lips pursing together.

After a beat of that expression, he smiled playfully, starting to fish something out of one of his pockets, "You look like someone who comes to the same place at the same time everyday and sits in the exact same chair so-"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jane felt it to be her turn to glare menacingly at him, feeling odd at having her own words turned on her like that.

He shrugged noncommittally, the impish gleam in his eyes not mirroring the throw away gesture, "You aren't that difficult to figure out, it seems." He quickly went on before she could protest, "I'd like to buy you coffee tomorrow for saving my life."

Her eyes were narrowed, albeit playfully, "So you're saying that your life is worth one cup of coffee?"

"Well," He leaned over her and took a good sniff at the contents of her cup, "Specifically, I would say that it's worth a single Testa Rossa and no more."

"Is that so."

He nodded.

"Well, am I to expect there to be a mob of fangirls chasing after you tomorrow as well? One likes to be prepared for these things, you know. I could bring you a large, Winter coat next time."

Laughing nervously, he scratched the back of his head with one hand in a comically apprehensive manner, finally succeeding in retrieving a phone from his back pocket.

"Trust me, I sincerely hope not." He looked down at his phone and pressed a few buttons, then held the phone up in front of his face.

Jane wondered why he felt that now would be an appropriate time for a picture when he dropped the hand holding the phone into his lap and looked over at her.

"Can I borrow this?" He grabbed at the collar of her jacket with his free hand.

"The jacket, yes. The hat, no."

He remembered that she mentioned it was her father's hat.

Saluting her with respect, he removed the cap and placed it on her head, patting it down once to secure it, "Yes, ma'am! Thank you, ma'am!"

Losing the formality, he laughed, "I feel like I should trade coats all day to help disguise me. I did have some things to get done today."

Jane opened her mouth to protest at him giving her jacket away, but he waved a hand dismissing the comment.

"I'll bring it back tomorrow, don't you worry little lady."

Before she could say anything else, he plopped both his hand and his phone into her purse.

"Audience? WHA-" He pulled the phone out, "What are you going hiding out in Janey's purse? There's nothing to fear out here!" He whipped the camera of the phone up and down the street, laughing nervously.

"Hothothothothothothot." The phone followed a pair of ladies walking into the coffee shop a few feet away. "INTRO of DARKNESS then REDNESS then WHITENESS."

Jane felt super confused. She already knew that this was one strange dude sitting next to her, but in less than ten seconds of time, he had shot up to new heights on her weirdo scale.

"Okay, so, apparently this is…chase…Toby? Day? Or something? Haha," there was the nervous laugh again. He scratched the back of his head, "N-no one told me this when I decided to leave my house this morning and- hothothothothothot. Man, I NEED to go into this coffee shop! I probably shouldn't be sitting still, should I? As soon as I post this, there's going to be this ginormous mob of females crashing up from behind me.

"You want some coffee?" He started to dip his phone towards Jane's cup of espresso. "Nah, I don't think it'd be good for you, Audience. It might stunt your growth. And we want you to grow up to be a super awesome basketball player like nine feet tall or something. Haha! I'm just kidding. Oo, look, birds!" He flashed the phone towards a couple of finches that landed nearby on some bread someone didn't quite get into the trashcan. "They're so cute! Look, someone left them a snack! How sweet."

Jane's phone beeped quietly from the top of her purse and she grabbed it, seeing a text from Hayley.

_So, who was that guy you were with, huh?_

Jane sighed before typing back, _Is the chase over?_

Hayley was always quick to respond and Jane's phone beeped again a few seconds later.

_Yeah, he gave us the slip sometime after we passed you. You didn't answer my question!_

Jane put the phone up, not particularly wanting to answer her question yet. And also realizing that she didn't actually know what guy she was with.

"Okay, so I feel as if we should keep moving, Audience. These are dangerous parts around these here…parts." He got up with his phone and started to move away towards the corner the mob first chased him around.

"Say 'bye to Janey, Audience! 'Bye Janey!" He waved his free hand and also his phone back and forth in a quick wave before turning back to continue walking.

"So, they chased me forever, for like…five blocks. Which is forever! I ran around this corner and…"

His voice faded off as he moved farther and farther away, finally turning the corner and going back the way he came.

Jane took a deep breath as she watched him leave and held it for a second before letting it out. This was definitely the most exciting morning she'd had in a long time.

A bright color from the seat of the chair next to her caught her eye and she realized her exciting moment had walked off without his zip hoodie. She debated inwardly with herself. If he knew what a Testa Rossa smelled like, he was probably a frequent patron of Caffe Luxxe, which meant that she could very easily take the hoodie inside, say someone left it, and leave matters to them. On the other hand, she did plan on coming again tomorrow anyway, and if he actually showed up, she could hand off the hoodie and get her jacket in return, or even hold the hoodie hostage until he gave hers back.

Her gaze followed the path the stranger took moments ago, mind wandering off into nothing.

At least...she hoped to get that jacket back. It was one of her favorites.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I gotta go. Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off. Ba-da-do-do-do-do-do-do-do REVIEW (WITH A COMMENT)! OUTRO OF DARKNESS THEN REDNESS THEEEN WHITENESS. THEN...BOOP!


	2. Coffee Shop Conversation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello once again, Audience. Okay, so I'm not too sold on the main title for the story. I like to title things in relation to what the over-all plot is about, but since this was just a little diddy in my head, I have NO IDEA what the plot is :D Just in case anyone was wondering. I don't often write things like this off the top of my head without some sort of plan for where it's going. LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I HAVE NO PLAN. And I'm totally not ashamed of it.

As Jane reached out for the handle of the door to Caffe Luxxe, she was sudden struck by the routine of it all.

Nothing seemed particularly _different_. Same street, same time of day, same store, getting ready to go in and order the same coffee just like any other morning when she had the day off. Just like yesterday.

The lights were on, open precisely at seven a.m. like always, and the wonderful smell of coffee vented out into the general area like it did everyday of the week.

And here she was, 7:05 a.m., like always, getting ready to go inside and order her Testa Rossa. Like always.

So, what made her notice it  _today_ _?_

_"You aren't that difficult to figure out, it seems."_

Oh. That's right.

The words she'd at first jokingly shot at the brown-haired man from yesterday-- _what was his name again?--_ had been haunting her ever since he'd turned them around and thrown them back in her face.

Jane had always thought herself a rather mysterious woman, secretive, alluring, like in the movies.

Was it really that easy to 'figure her out?' Or had he just been messing with her, using the phrase like she had: meant to be funny since used upon someone she hadn't even met.

How did that old saying go?

_"Many a true word is spoken in jest."_

Jane tried not to sigh even as her hand closed on the handle of the door.

"Janey!"

Her heart lurched, the shout pulling her from her rapidly devolving thoughts and shoving her back into the real world. She looked over her shoulder to see a random guy waving frantically at her, stupid smile slapped across his face and his eyes bright with recognition.

Not just any random guy, she noted after a confused second--after all, who in their right mind would be  _that_ thrilled about seeing  _her_ \--but her 'exciting moment' from yesterday morning. The strange blip that had in a single encounter set her reeling back and unhappy with the dreary existence she had fallen into.  

Hitching up her purse higher on her shoulder, Jane slowly let go of the door handle while still looking in his direction.

She recalled a moment when she had been younger and swore to herself she would never fall into the same schedule day in and day out, thinking in her child-like mind that such a thing would be like a death-toll to her existence, unable at the time to imagine how comforting a mundane life might be.

That same lurch in her heart happened in her stomach, suddenly apprehensive about going over there and actually meeting...

_"What was his name again?!"_

This morning she debated madly with herself about whether to come for her morning cup of coffee or to forgo the ritual completely and make instant coffee at home. The prospect of meeting with a stranger was daunting. Enough so that she considered breaking out of her routine, a mythological feat in and of itself.

"Buck up, old girl. People go on blind dates all the time." She had told herself. Not that she considered this a proper 'date' by any means. Just a cup of coffee with a random stranger that she couldn't even say she had really met yesterday. Happenstance simply dictated that he sat down at her table and sought sanctuary in her company. Boy, would Hayley go bonkers if she heard about this one.

"Not that she IS going to hear about it." Not if Jane could help it at all.

Besides, Jane continued to rationalize with herself, people met randomly in public places after talking on the internet with less words than the two of them exchanged in person the day before. Granted, usually the two people hadn't commandeered articles of one another's clothing.

The jacket.

Back to the present, Jane glanced down at the aqua-colored zip hoodie slung over the arm carrying her purse. The jacket had possibly been the biggest deciding factor of this meeting for her, and what truly pushed her to quickly gather her things to make it to Caffe Luxxe at her normal arrival time. She really did like that jacket.

Her inner dialogue hadn't taken any time at all, and yet by the time Jane looked up again, she noticed the worried look on the stranger's face. Realizing that her momentary hesitation had likely caused his worry, she picked up her steps and briskly closed the distance between the two of them.

His creased eyebrows smoothed out as she came closer and a slow grin overtook his features.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to have to come over and get you myself or if I should start yelling embarrassing things at you to get you to come over faster."

"I appreciate the restraint on your part, dear sir." Jane stopped as she got to the edge of the table. She presented his hoodie with both hands. "I believe this is yours."

He laughed sheepishly, "I believe you are correct. I hadn't really missed it much, to be honest. Until I got home from my errands and remembered that it was your jacket I was wearing."

"May I have my jacket back now?"

"Only if you sit down and join me first." He gestured openly to the empty seat next to him.

Jane placed her things on the table as she pulled out the chair and sat, "You didn't lose it, did you?"

From the chair on the other side of him, he retrieved her jacket, "Safe and sound, gurl! And none worse for the wear!"

Taking the jacket from him, Jane replaced it with his hoodie, "I'm glad I didn't have to hold it hostage in order to get mine back."

He laughed again and they each disposed of their rightful garmets.

Jane frowned after a moment, looking around her as something felt a bit off. She shifted in her chair a bit.

"A-ha! I would bet by that look on your face that you are only just now noticing the change in venue!" He turned back to her.

"Pardon?"

"If you'll notice, gurl, we are sitting exactly one table over and one table back from where you were sitting yesterday."

Jane leaned over to look pass him and immediately recognized the table she picked out for its perfect placement. She felt uncomfortable and shifted in her chair again.

"Ha ha, if you really feel that bad about sitting over here, we can move. But I asked that table if it wouldn't mind not having company this morning and it said that it wouldn't mind at all. I took the liberty of picking a different table!"

"Any other surprises before I have a heart attack?

"Well," He drew out the word and Jane knew something else was up, "I would venture to guess that you order a Testa Rossa all the time…" He took one of the two cups in front of him, placed the saucer down in front of her, and then put the cup on top of that.

"I'm extremely picky about my coffee." She warned.

He laughed, "So I gathered. Give it a try. I cross my heart hope to die that if you don't like it, I will march myself right back in there, throw the cup at the barista's face and get you a Testa Rossa. But only if you try it first!" He waggled a finger at her.

The thought of this stranger standing up for her by throwing coffee at a confused barista made Jane smile.

He grinned at her and indicated the cup.

"Your adventure awaits."

"Are you always this cheerful?"

"Do you always sound British-y when you are surprised?" He countered her question with one of his own, leaning in closer to her, a searching look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Jane started back a bit at the mention of it.

"Ha, just then! You did it just then!"

"I don't have a clue as to what you're talking about." Just as Jane thought yesterday, this man's smile was infectious and she found herself smiling foolishly at his excited expression.

"It's pretty awesome." He wiped some invisible dirt off of his shoulder. He slipped into a proper English drawl, "My British accent isn't half bad either, if I do say so myself."

"And you do." Jane noted.

"So, what gives with the accent? You not from around here?"

The two of them took an unspoken, mutual, momentary break from the conversation to take a sip of coffee as they both reached for their mugs at roughly the same time. Jane was grateful that her drinking partner did not say anything when she took a second sip after tentatively letting the first barely graze her tongue, though the sparkle in his eyes spoke volumes.

Even just the brief reprieve let Jane collect her rapidly tumbling thoughts and form her next sentence a bit more assuredly.

"I'm afraid that I don't feel comfortable continuing this conversation any longer until we've at least exchanged the usual pleasantries two strangers are expected to exchange."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow playfully, "Your name is Janey and my name is Tobuscus. Is that not pleasant enough?"

"I feel fairly certain that Tobuscus, as cool and gladiatorial as it may sound, isn't your real name." Janey leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Do you now? What if I told you that was the name everyone knows me by?"

"That still doesn't make it your birth name. Or the one your mother calls you."

"I'll have you know that even Mombuscus has slipped up and called me Tobuscus before." He seemed rather proud of that fact.

Mom…buscus?

As if reading the confusion on her face, he continued, "And if you play your cards right, maybe I'll start calling you Janeybuscus."

Jane made a face, "I think I'd prefer it if I stayed out of that club, thank you."

"What, don't like it?" He looked hurt.

"You aren't attaching the right name to it, for one thing. Which brings me back to the introductions…"

"Oh alright, as you wish." He sighed and scooted his chair back to stand up, turning away for a moment.

Jane wasn't really sure what to expect when he abruptly left his seat.

Suddenly he spun back around, "Oh! Hello. My name is Toby Turner. I wanted to thank you officially for saving my life yesterday." Toby Turner bowed to Jane and, half-rising, extended a hand towards her.

Jane felt that remaining in her seat was fitting, but she did take Toby's hand, "You are quite welcome, Toby Turner. My name is Jane Johnson. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Ah!" He exclaimed, shaking her hand politely, "An alliteration! How appropriate that we two meet!" He dropped her hand and laughed as he sat down and pulled his chair back up to the table.

"Where did the name Tobuscus come from?" Jane wanted to know.

Toby put his coffee back down, having taken a drink as soon as he sat, and held up a hand to let her know that he had coffee still in his mouth. After swallowing it, he spoke up.

"It's the name I use on all of the video games I play. My persona, if you will."

"Right. And adding the end of it to everything…?"

"Ha, that is a trade secret, ma'am."

Jane shook her head and took another drink, feeling strangely grateful to this 'Toby Turner.' The coffee wasn't too bad. And the wind flowed nicely between the two buildings to this seat, countering the warm coffee she drank.

"Okay, so I satisfied your curiosity about my name. Now it's your turn."

Jane tried to look innocent, like she didn't already know what he was going to ask of her.

"Your last name sounds pretty English. I guess that means your dad is from Great Britain at least."

"That isn't really a question, you know."

"Well, am I right?"

Jane sighed, "Was. My dad was from Great Britain. England, specifically, though I'm sure you probably guessed at that correctly in your head."

It took Toby a second to understand her correction of his tense, but then it dawned on him. His mouth formed an 'O.'

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to bring anything hurtful up." He toyed with the saucer of his cup.

Jane released another sigh, "It's…okay." And...really...she found that it  _was._

She found herself looking down into the muddy colored beverage, but still felt like she should go on, "Business brought him here to the U.S. and he met my Mom and they settled down. We moved around a lot though. L.A. is probably my Mom's favorite place, so when Dad died, she moved here and I followed her as soon as I could."

"How long has he been gone? If you don't mind me asking."

"It's been since I got out of college, four years ago now?" Jane looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing, "Wow. It'll be the second anniversary of his death this year." She shook her head, "Sorry. I try not to think about it too often."

Toby seemed to understand and looked sympathetic, "Miss him?"

Jane nodded once, "Lots. We were really close. It's been hard knowing that he's not around anymore, but...he had a fantastic life and," She shrugged, "It  _is_ hard, but at the same time I know he's at peace."

"So, you went to college, huh?" Toby felt bad bringing down the conversation like he had, even if it was accidental, so he changed the subject and smiled.

"Yup. You?"

"Oh yeah, gurl. I went to college. Probably graduated about when you did. Got one of them there degrees." He slipped into a hick accent, "It's done helped me out a lot in life."

"Oh really? We're about the same age? You seem much older than that. 40. 50." Jane waved a hand nonchalantly before picking up her coffee, using the mug to hide her smile.

"Oo, ouch," Toby hissed and rubbed his forearm, "Burn. And how old are you? 12? 13?"

"Pardon?"

"Ha, that accent gets me every time!"

Jane wasn't sure whether to glare at him or shake her head. She went with glare and took another sip of her coffee.

"What? Don't women like to be thought younger than they are? I thought that might get me some brownie points. You can't be a day over 15." He paused when she did not react, "16?"

"You are a funny, funny man, Toby Turner." Jane shook her head at this point, but couldn't help smiling.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you think so, Jane Johnson." He raised his cup to her in toast before taking a drink.

Suddenly, Jane felt hands clamp themselves over her eyes and her heart leapt in her chest in fright.

"Guess who."

The voice sounded as if whoever it was purposefully lowered how their voice sounded in order to mask the owner.

Jane was at a loss.

"Um…"

Toby's laugh sounded a bit testy this time, "I'll give you a hint, Jane. Who led the pack yesterday?"

Just as quickly as the hands had been placed over her eyes, they were gone.

Hayley smacked Toby on the shoulder, "That completely gave it away, Tobuscus." She put her hands on her hips in protest.

Toby put his hands out in a relenting gesture and shrugged, smile back on his face.

Hayley leaned in between them and put her elbows down on the table, looking left and right to catch both people's expressions.

"What are you doing here, Hayley?" Jane thought she heard the British in her voice that time.

_"Darn you, Toby Turner. Am I really that easy to read?"_

"I think I should be asking you that question, Janey, my dear." Hayley booped Jane on the nose with a finger. She stood up and stuck out a hand towards Toby. "By the way, the name's Hayley."

"So I gathered," Toby replied with mock-disdain as he took her hand. "I do so appreciate being able to officially put a name with my nemesis."

"Nemesis?" Hayley threw her head back in laughter, "I get to be Tobuscus' nemesis." She rubbed her hands together, relishing the role, "I think I might be able to do something with that."

"Don't give her any ideas." Jane warned Toby.

"Oh, it's much too late for that, Janey." Hayley hunched over like an old witch over her cauldron and cackled. "I'll get you, my pretty. And your little dog too!"

Toby clutched at his heart, "No! Not Gryphon! Anything but my precious Gryphon!"

Hayley stood back up, looking pleased with herself.

"My first order of business as your newly proclaimed nemesis is to inform you of a rather large group of girls headed in this direction."

"What?" Toby grew wide-eyed and would have shot up out of his chair then and there had he known the action not likely caused him to spill his coffee all over his lap. "How do they know I'm here?"

Hayley looked innocent, "Oh, I dunno. Probably something about your daily vlog from yesterday involving a seat relatively close to this and a couple of frames with the name of the shop."

"Why is this your first act as nemesis? Isn't informing him of this counter-logical?" Jane wanted to know. "Aren't you actually being helpful?"

"To the innocent bystander, yes. As a nemesis though, I just like seeing him squirm."

As if on perfect queue, girly shrieks hit their ears.

"You might want to start running, Toby." Hayley sauntered towards the door of the coffee shop, "They get louder the closer they are." She winked over her shoulder at them and went inside.

"This. Is not good." Toby jumped up out of his seat. "Definitely, definitely, not good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off. Ba-da-do-do-do-do-do-do-DO REVIEW (WITH A COMMENT)! OUTRO OF DARKNESS THEN REDNESS THEEEN WHITENESS. THEN...BOOP!


	3. RUN TOBY RUN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello once again, Audience. When we left off, Toby's rabid fangirls were on the hunt...

"We gotta go. Now." Toby felt uncharacteristically serious.

"Huh?" Jane wasn't really sure what the 'we' was about.

"You remember that group of girls I was running away from yesterday?" He glanced nervously behind them, in the direction of the screams of joy.

"Kinda hard to forget."

"I recognize some of those screams. I would bet a big part of this group is the same. And that's bad. Very bad."

"Why is it bad?"

"No time. Come on!" He grabbed her arm in an attempt to pull her from her seat.

"But what about our coffee?" She resisted the pull.

"I'm sure your friend in there will take care of it." Toby jerked his head toward the coffee shop.

Jane looked over to see Hayley watching them from inside, standing behind the huge windows that faced out into the awning of the building. Catching Jane's eye, she waved and grinned impishly.

The tug at her arm was more urgent the second time and succeeded in pulling Jane up from her seat.

"Don't forget your jacket!"

Jane knew without looking that Toby's grin was back on his face as Jane reached for both her purse and her jacket.

Zip hoodie in hand, Toby took off down the street with Jane in tow behind him.

"How on Earth did I get into this?" Jane wondered aloud as Toby switched from grabbing her arm to snatching a hold of her hand so that he could drag her along faster.

"Um, that may have sort of been my fault."

"How, exactly?"

"Well, I post vlogs and stuff online and you were in my daily vlog from yesterday when I first posted about this mob of girls chasing me."

Vlogs. Daily ones? Jane had no idea what he babbled on about.

"What's a vlog?"

"A video blog." He sounded as if he'd explained it a lot in his life. "It's exactly like a blog except that instead of typing it all out and posting it online, you video tape it and post it online."

"So, you weren't actually just talking to your phone yesterday because you're socially inept at making real friends."

"Ha!" He took a moment to flash a winning smile in her direction. "You're funny. You should write for Leno. 'Cuz you're funny."

The timing was perfect as the came up on South Saltair Avenue. There was a small huddle of people waiting for the crosswalk light to change and just as Toby and Jane ran up, the little green man indicated it was safe to cross. Toby didn't hesitate on plunging through the crowd, still pulling Jane along.

"Hold on." Jane tore her hand free of Toby's after they got clear of the street and crossed her arms, looking stubborn.

Toby danced from one foot to the other, "What what what?" He craned his neck to look over her shoulder, constantly aware that the screams were growing louder by the second.

" _You_  run if you're so scared of a couple of girls. I'm staying right here. They aren't after _me_."

"Uh," Toby's eyes darted back and forth anxiously, "Actually, that's what I was just talking about. I'd feel bad if something happened to you if I left you behind."

She gave him a look that easily translated into, 'Really?'

"You were in my vlog," He hopped a bit faster now as he tried to explain, "They saw you. If they see you standing there, they'll recognize you."

"So?"

"Can we talk about this while running, please?" He gave her his best 'puppy dog eyes' that he could.

"Can those eyes get any bigger?" Jane threw her gaze heavenward as if seeking reprieve from his pleading look.

"If I say 'yes' to your question, does that mean the answer to my question is 'yes' too?" He widened his eyes as big as possible, giving up on the beseeching expression.

Jane laughed at him, unable to come up with a retort.

"Okay, fine. But if you start not being able to talk while running, we're stopping."

"Oh, that won't _ever_ happen." He grinned and grabbed her hand, taking off again.

They got halfway through the block before they had a rhythm and Jane started the conversation again.

"So," Jane took a deep breath, "Why does it matter if they recognize you?"

"Have you ever been mauled by a rabid group of fangirls?"

"No."

"Wanna see my scars?" He looked over his shoulder at her and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. "I lost my shirt and was lucky to get away with most of my jeans still intact."

"I can never tell if you're kidding or not." Jane decided.

"Good."

Privately, Jane was glad she decided to wear tennis shoes and not her heels today. It really did go with the saying, 'The kind of shoes you put on in the morning says a lot about the type of day you're hoping to have.' Not that Jane knew she was going to be chased today, but it was looking at the bright side of things.

"Any particular destination in mind?" Jane wanted to know.

The pair weren't running full tilt, Toby was saving his energy for if the mob actually spotted them and he figured that at the moment they had a good chance of escaping unless they ran into the back of it, but the jogging pace they were at made for a nice breeze to keep them cool.

"Well, my car would be nice. I did park in a different place than yesterday, but I'm kind of scared to go there now." Toby didn't want to think what would happen if they rounded the corner to his car only to find a second mob ready to give chase as soon as they saw him.

"We could have climbed in my car and I could have just driven you to yours. I parked near the coffee shop."

"I panicked." Toby admitted. "Just hearing those screams sends chills down my spine. And not the good, tingly, awesome-feeling ones either. The you're-just-asking-for-more-scars ones." To emphasize his point he shivered appropriately, sneaking a glance back at Jane to see how she reacted.

Jane couldn't stop smiling and felt like an idiot. The only thing that reassured her was Toby's ear to ear grin that he graced her with every once in a while after making a comment or answering a question. As panicked as she remembered his face being when they first heard the squeals, he seemed to be enjoying himself now.

 _"Did he ever not enjoy himself?"_ Jane thought the answer was no. Unless he was being chased by wild packs of glomping females. And only then if they were inevitably going to catch him. Or maybe not even unless they  _actually_ caught him.

When they reached the end of the block, they turned right, down South Bundy Drive, and Toby slowed way down, letting go of Jane's hand and trusting she would follow, cutting through the gas station's parking lot.

"Here's where we cue the secret agent theme music," Toby started singing nonsense syllables to the tune of the James Bond theme, but quickly started adding his own words. "I wa-ant to get, to my car, ri-i-ight now, and then, I'd like to-o get, into my car, ri-i-ight now, and after I ge-et in-to my car I like to-o take off and hopef'ly, go-oh down the block!"

Toby started out slinking with his hands held together like a gun, but towards the end of the words, Toby sang louder and louder and flourished into the air with a huge gesture indicating which direction down the block he wished to drive.

Jane couldn't stop laughing and that just egged Toby on even more. He added a couple more verses as they made their way through the parking lot behind the gas station, apparently having forgotten all about the reason why they were trying to find his car in the first place.

Luck was on Toby's side for once, and when he spied his vehicle, he gratefully noticed that no one lurked about suspiciously.

As he started to walk towards the driver's side, he noticed Jane slowing down.

"I suppose you're safe enough now."

"Well shoot, gurl. Get in!" He waved her forward, "I can't have you walking back to your car unattended. Seriously, though, I don't want to let you out of my sight until I see you safely pulling away in your own car."

"Wow. What did those girls do to you to make you so nervous?"

"Y-you don't wanna know, heheh." He scratched the back of his head like he had the first morning they met: a sort of self-aware, nervous motion. "Suffice it to say that I hope to never be caught by them again." He held one hand up in an oath, the other over his heart.

Jane hesitated. She already met the guy for coffee. Was getting into his car really her safest option? There were stories about kidnappers in similar situations to this, luring women to their cars, weren't there?

Toby unlocked the driver's side door and slid into the seat, unlocking the rest of the automobile and adjusting the mirror and seat before putting in the keys. It was only then that he noticed Jane hadn't moved.

"Janey, get yo rear in gear! We got places to be!" He stuck his head out over the roof and yelled at her, wondering if he would be loud enough to break her reverie. "More specifically, away from here."

He seemed kind enough. He had nice eyes-- _among other things, like teeth and hair and...what was I thinking about? Oh yeah._

Why so suspicious of him?

 _"I'm just being cautious."_ Jane tried to convince herself.  _"There's nothing wrong with that."_

Part of her called her paranoid. Get in the car with the hottest guy you've spoken to in months before you regret it.

One giant shriek turned their heads towards the gas station, where around the corner the first of the mob popped out. Jane could almost feel the ground rumbling underneath the feet of the nearly psychotic girls.

As soon as Toby heard the shriek, he ducked back inside and slammed his door shut, starting the vehicle and opening the passenger side door within milliseconds of one another.

"Get in!" He ordered, hoping he didn't sound too harsh.

It looked almost like the force of his words is what pulled Jane forward, getting her dragging feet moving before the urgency of the situation snapped into place in her brain and she dove for the seat, grabbing the inside handle and yanking the door shut as fast as she could.

"Seat belt." Toby reminded as he shifted gears.

Jane fumbled with the harness as Toby practically flew out of the parking lot, turning right and praying that the wheels wouldn't peal out and give away his position.

His luck held and the tires took the turn like a champ. He adjusted the rearview mirror again while keeping his eye on the road in front of him, glancing at it quickly to determine which direction the mob was going to take.

"It looks like they're going to keep running on Vincente." He heaved a gigantic sigh and plopped back against the seat, the leather making a slight protesting noise as he did so. "I think we've lost them."

"Thank heaven for small favors." Jane replied, still not quite comfortable being in the situation she found herself.

"Yeah, no kidding. I almost thought you were going to bail on me back there." He barked a short laugh, "I would have had to get out and kidnap you to keep you from dying at the hands of the mob. Or worse!"

Jane chuckled humorlessly, suddenly even more uncomfortable at the mention of kidnapping.

"All in all, I'd call it a successful morning." Toby lightly tapped the steering wheel for emphasize.

"Oh, you would, would you?" Jane replied, wry overtones in her words.

"Yup! I accomplished what I set out to do!"

"And what was that?"

"Get you some excitement."

Jane glanced over at Toby, quickly shifting her eyes back to the passing houses.

"So, let's see. Different table. Different coffee. Neither of which seemed particularly distasteful." It was Toby's turn to steal a look at Jane, trying to make for certain that his conjectures weren't false. She didn't make any noises of protest, so he continued, "Getting chased by a mob, though I didn't exactly _plan_ on-"

"Why me?" Jane piped up.

"Pardon? Do you mean why are you getting chased by a mob?" Toby bobbed his head a bit, still thinking abut his secret agent song and what video that he could put it in. "That was an accidental part of the excitement."

He looked over at her for a moment before turning back to the road.

"Or do you mean, why did I sit down at your table yesterday and steal your clothes to hide myself? Call it a twist of fate. _Destiny_ , if you believe in that sort of thing instead."

"Yes, but why 'get me some excitement?' "

"Well," Toby didn't exactly have an answer for that right away, so there was a second or two of pause, "You seemed…bored."

Bored.

Jane didn't disagree, curious as she was to know why he thought that after spending less than fifteen minutes with her the day before. Was it really that obvious? Were people walking by her all the time saying, 'There she goes. That is one really bored-looking woman.'

The pair didn't say much as Toby took the streets that made a giant circle back to Caffee Luxxe. He figured that it would allow for enough time to clear out any stragglers.

Jane lost herself in her mind, stressing out over what other people were thinking about her. If Toby thought she looked bored, who else did? And why did it bother her if people thought she looked bored? She was bored. Bored out of her mind with the same things day in and day out. No...excitement.

Toby silently kept going over the words to his James Bond Theme until he worked the kinks out. It was going to be a good day when he figured out what exactly he was going to do with it.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Jane noticed that they were almost back around to Caffe Luxxe.

"Since you're free, you should come over!"

Jane's eyes grew wide for a second as she replayed the last of Toby's words. He had asked her if she was busy tonight and she shook her head, not in response to his question, but providing an accurate one anyway.

Seeing the blank look on Jane's face, Toby decided to extrapolate on his sentence a bit more and try to bring her up to speed.

"I'm throwing a party tonight. Nothing big. Just going to have a few friends over and hang out, really. They're all lots of fun."

"Is this still part of your 'bring excitement into Jane's life' project?"

Toby raised an eyebrow quizzically at his rearview mirror before changing lanes, "I…suppose if you want to look at it that way, you could take it that way, sure."

"I have work tomorrow-"

"I don't think we'll be up all that late, if that's what you're worried about. And you are more than welcome to come and go as you please. I'd be pleased if you meandered on over sometime during the evening and met a few people."

"That sounds," Jane smiled a little. Meeting a few people. "Nice."

"Great!" Toby pulled over into a parking spot by the Jamba Juice on the corner of Vicente. "I think this is as close as I'm going to be able to get you. If there isn't a spot up there, we'd have to go around the bend again. Want me to walk you to your car?"

Jane laughed, "No, thank you. I feel as if you've done enough already."

Glad to see her giving away her laughter so easily, Toby grinned, "Alright. If you insist."

Jane unclasped her seatbelt and hopped out, making a point to show him her jacket and purse. "I've got everything."

Toby rolled down the window as she slowly shut the door, his grin becoming wider.

"Good. I will see you tonight!"

"Bye!"

Jane and Toby waved at each other as he raised the window and pulled out into the street.

The walk back to her car was full of silence, but her mind was going a mile a minute. A party! She first thought about telling Hayley, but wasn't sure if the girl was invited, being Toby's nemesis after all, and Jane still felt uncomfortable about telling her anything in relation to guys as the much younger Hayley tended to blow those kinds of things way out of proportion.

Fishing her keys out of her purse, Jane unlocked her car door and dropped into the seat, throwing her purse and jacket onto the passenger side floor. That's when it hit her.

She didn't know where Toby lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dramatic music* dun dun DUN. Was anyone going OMG before Jane figured it out? Tee hee. TRANSITION. So, I keep calling it 'automobile' and 'vehicle' because I'm a car-noob and don't have any idea what kind of car Toby drives, but was pretty sure it wasn't a 'car.' It's like a jeep or something? I dunno. I don't pretend to understand cars. I sing in them though! Speaking of singing in cars, if you want to hear the underlying music that I listened to in order to write Toby's singing, go to youtube and search 'Jubilee James Bond Theme.' The video was posted by L Lav. Go to 0:35 and then put each syllable, including the ones I spaced out, with the guitar part that comes in.
> 
> Okay, I gotta go. Bless your face. If you sneezed during this chapter, bless you. Peace off. Ba-da-do-do-do-do-do-do-do REVIEW! OUTRO OF DARKNESS THEN REDNESS THEEEN WHITENESS. THEN...BOOP!


End file.
